OKPOLICY.ORG
In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
Today you should know that A-F school grades sent to districts for their 10-day review have changed five or six times since their release Wednesday due to miscalculations by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Supporters of an initiative petition to put storm shelters in Oklahoma schools asked the state Supreme Court to throw out changes that Attorney General Scott Pruitt made to the ballot title.
State Treasurer Ken Miller accused pension reform critics of spreading misleading information. You can find links to reliable information on Oklahoma’s pension debate at our pension resources page. An advocate for domestic violence victims said violence against women is a principal cause of homelessness among women and children in Oklahoma.
StateImpact Oklahoma examined how wind farms are interfering with weather radar, and how the water infrastructure of small Oklahoma towns is breaking down. OK Policy announced our inaugural class of research fellows, five graduate students who are conducting promising research on public policy issues. The Oklahoma Bar Association is honoring OK Policy with the Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Diversity Award.
The Number of the Day is the percentage of eligible voters in Oklahoma who voted in the 2012 election. In today’s Policy Note, Atlantic Cities maps 22 different Latino populations across America.
In The News
A-F school grades changed multiple times since release statewide
The first A-F school grades sent to districts for their 10-day review have changed five or six times since their release Wednesday due to miscalculations by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. This has frustrated school administrators statewide who are working to analyze the data that underpin the grades to make sure the grades are accurate before they are presented for certification to the state Board of Education on Oct. 29. Jenks Superintendent Stacey Butterfield said school grades in her district had changed at least four times.
Read more from The Tulsa World.
Oklahoma school shelter supporters file legal challenge with state Supreme Court
Supporters of an initiative petition to put storm shelters in Oklahoma schools asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday to throw out changes the state’s top attorney made to the ballot title. The petition initiative seeks to let voters decide whether the state should create a $500 million bond issue to pay for shelters and security. Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, a strong supporter of the bond issue, said the reworded version focuses too much on the funding mechanism — the franchise tax — and not the project’s goal of protecting schoolchildren.
Treasurer Ken Miller pushes back at pension reform critics
State Treasurer Ken Miller accused pension reform critics Wednesday of spreading erroneous and misleading information. His comments were made during an interim study before the Senate Pension Committee. Another hearing is set for Nov. 20. During the last legislative session, Miller advocated for consolidating some of the state boards that administer the state’s seven pension funds, saying it could save millions of dollars.
Read more from The Tulsa World.
See also: Pension Resources from Oklahoma Policy Institute
Okla. panel studies poverty-domestic violence link
An advocate for domestic violence victims says violence against women is a principal cause of homelessness among women and children. Jackie Steyn (stain) of the YWCA of Oklahoma City told an Oklahoma House committee Thursday that 70 percent of those who seek services from the Homeless Alliance in Oklahoma City report a history of domestic violence. Steyn made the comments during a legislative study by the Human Service Committee on poverty and its link to domestic violence in the state.
Why the growth of wind energy worries weather forecasters in Oklahoma
Oklahoma is now No. 6 in the nation in wind-generated electricity capacity, and last week the state helped set a wind power record for the entire region. Wind farms are multiplying and expanding in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and throughout the Great Plains, where the nation’s wind energy potential is concentrated. The industry’s growth is worrying weather forecasters because wind turbines can confuse radar.
Read more from StateImpact Oklahoma.
Despite state assistance, water problems worsening in Konawa
Many of the 1,300 or so residents of Konawa, in Seminole County, are once again without water as the town continues to grapple with the ongoing breakdown of the pipes, mains, and pumps that deliver water to homes and businesses. The problem isn’t confined to Konawa, but as StateImpact reported in December 2012, Konawa’s struggles are a good illustration of the kind of issues faced by small towns with aging water infrastructure. Some of its water pipes were more than 80 years old, and had received little to no maintenance.
Read more from StateImpact Oklahoma.
OK Policy announces inaugural class of research fellows
Oklahoma Policy Institute is very pleased to announce the selection of five Oklahoma graduate students as the first class of OK Policy Research Fellows. The OK Policy Research Fellowship program is intended to recognize and support top-performing graduate students who are conducting promising research on public policy issues. Research Fellows are each expected to contribute two OK Policy blog posts on issues related to their research and experience. They will also assist with organizing an OK Policy event over the course of the year.
Read more from Oklahoma Policy Institute.
OK Policy receives Diversity Award from Oklahoma Bar Association
The Oklahoma Bar Association plans to honor six individuals and organizations for promoting diversity in Oklahoma. Each will receive the Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Diversity Award during the annual Oklahoma Bar Association Diversity Conference on Oct. 24. The award is named after a key figure in the Civil Rights movement in Oklahoma who in 1949 was the first black woman admitted to the University of Oklahoma’s law school. Award recipients include Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Colbert; attorney Melvin Hall of Oklahoma City; U.S. Attorney Danny Williams Sr. of Tulsa; the Fellers Snider Law Firm of Oklahoma City and Tulsa; the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Family Violence Prevention Program; and the Oklahoma Policy Institute.
Quote of the Day
We’re just chasing in circles. The bottom line is, the system just doesn’t work. It’s not an indication of whether students are successful academically.
-Broken Arrow Assistant Superintendent Janet Dunlop, who said her district has decided not to look at Oklahoma’s A-F grades for schools, which have already been change 5 or 6 times since they were release Wednesday (Source: http://bit.ly/18siIVG)
Number of the Day
49.2%
Percentage of eligible voters who voted in Oklahoma in the 2012 election.
Source: United States Elections Project
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Mapping 22 different Latino populations across America
Where do America’s Latino and Hispanic populations live? Let’s start with where they’re not living: in Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, and a whopping chunk of the Midwest that probably hears a sí as often as the cry of an Amazonian toucan. That’s the picture painted by this absorbing visualization from the U.S. Census, showing where people with ties to south-of-the-border countries reside in the United States.
Read more from The Atlantic Cities.
You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
